Channel Islands cruise to 10-try Sweden victory

The Channel Islands rugby team won their first-ever match as they beat Sweden 66-28.The game at Guernsey's Footes Lane came a fortnight after Jersey had beaten their old rivals in their annual Siam Cup fixture.A combined side - with eight Guernsey and seven Jersey players in the starting line-up - proved too strong for the side 31st in World Rugby's international rankings as they scored 10 tries.The islanders wasted no time as they raced into a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes as Dom Rice and Guernsey compatriot Anthony Armstrong scored tries.Aron Qvarnstrom pulled a try back for the Swedes midway through the first period but Charlie Simmonds and Armstrong went over in quick succession to make it 28-7 after 26 minutes.Axel Kalling Smith and David Hill scored two tries in three minutes for the Swedes to reduce the gap to seven points before Simmonds and Ethan Smith scored for the islands in the final moments of the half as they led 40-21 at the break.
Guernsey hooker Tom Ceillam got the Channel Islands' seventh try two minutes after the restart before Joar Blanc got Sweden's fourth try five minutes later.Scott van Breda intercepted a 58th-minute pass and raced in from inside his own half for the eighth home try of the night - the former Worcester Warriors and Western Province player becoming the first Jersey-based scorer of the night. Dan Barnes had a ninth try disallowed soon after as the islands' forwards dominated the game, but Armstrong sealed his hat-trick moments later to make it 61-28 with eight minutes left.Jersey forward Euan Spencer forced his way over from close range in the final moments to wrap up the victory.

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Telegraph

21 minutes ago

• Telegraph

The Lions gaffes that must be eradicated in Australia

Tom Curry and Fin Smith joined Andy Farrell, their British and Irish Lions head coach, in delivering scathing assessments of Friday evening's 28-24 loss to Argentina, stressing that wastefulness cannot continue in Australia. The Lions' defeat was characterised by inaccurate offloads that coughed up possession and Farrell slammed his team's 'error rate' in Dublin, suggesting that they 'lost enough ball for a full tour'. Curry, who played 80 minutes at blindside flanker, was particularly frustrated. 'The biggest point is that we need to be more clinical with the ball,' he said. 'The exciting thing is that we have got people in position, people are running, but, f---, we can't score points if we are dropping it and giving it away that easily. That comes first and foremost.' "Not acceptable... dissapointed" ‼️ Andy Farrell's scathing assessment of the Lions defeat 🗣️ — Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 20, 2025 Like Farrell, the 27-year-old refused to point to a lack of familiarity – either between players or with a new attacking system – as justification. On his second Lions tour to follow 2021, Curry is hoping to eradicate sloppiness as quickly as possible with the Test series set to get under way on July 19. 'I have been on these things before and you can wait until Monday before you say this stuff, but you can get to the sixth week and still make the same excuse,' he added. 'Six weeks is not a long time so we can't make that excuse the whole way through [the tour]. We nipped that in the bud straight away. We need to take personal responsibility for our own performances and how excited we get on the ball. 'That is the really annoying thing, because on the flip side it's really exciting because we do have our hands on the ball and are in great spots. But come on, we need to take personal responsibility when we have it.' Forcing passes out of contact became a recurring and debilitating feature of the Lions performance. On the half-hour mark, Tommy Freeman arced off his wing behind the run of Bundee Aki and freed his arms, only for Sione Tuipulotu to drop a deft pass: Freeman should not shoulder all the blame for this, given he had a clear line of sight to Tuipulotu and lifted the ball into the path of his centre. It could probably be categorised as a constructive mistake. Around four minutes later, though, came a riskier effort. Having roamed across from the Lions' right wing and stepped up at first receiver, Freeman fixed two defenders and attempted to flip the ball to Marcus Smith. The latter seemed to call for a pass, but has overrun his team-mate by the time the ball is released: Other mix-ups in the second half were even less excusable and will have caused Farrell even more angst. Luke Cowan-Dickie spun through a tackle but was intercepted by Lucio Cinti as he aimed to link up with Fin Smith: Tadhg Furlong made ground around the fringes of a ruck before an aimless offload went to Gonzalo García, the Argentina scrum-half: Tuipulotu had a tumbling pass snaffled by Tomás Albornoz as well, and Curry admitted that the Lions had gone against the principles Farrell had outlined in training. 'Andy's been hot on [how] you've got to see your pass and know someone is there,' he said. 'There were key moments today when that didn't happen. That's what I'm saying – we can't say it in training and not do it in a game.' Successful offloads, such as one from Marcus Smith to Freeman in the first half as well as the interplay between Tuipulotu and Fin Smith that led to Aki's try, can carve open defences. As he urges greater caution, Farrell will not want to stifle creativity. The line-out was another scruffy area for the Lions and Curry pinpointed a gaffe with nine minutes remaining – when Ronan Kelleher's throw sailed over the top without the Lions even hoisting a jumper into the air – as another costly mistake. 'It's either a body language thing or we didn't communicate to the hooker well enough,' he explained. 'It's one of those two.' After spending 80 minutes at fly-half, Fin Smith was equally disheartened. 'I'm gutted, pretty deflated,' he said. 'It's probably not how I saw my first Lions cap going. I'm sure once I take the emotion out of it, the sun will come up tomorrow and we'll review it. Hopefully we can take stuff out of it but, yeah, it's incredibly disappointing.' Amid encouraging flashes, the Lions suffered from clunky moments in which a lack of cohesion derailed them. One such lapse occurred in the 76th minute after a scrum had earned the Lions a penalty advantage. Fin Smith fed Tuipulotu and wrapped around his centre, only for a pull-back pass to drop on to the turf: The Lions' hope is that execution matches up with their ambition and Fin Smith admitted that he might have reviewed the footage as soon as the early hours of Saturday morning. 'We don't feel too far away but I might watch that back and it will feel miles away,' said the Northampton Saints playmaker. 'We're not where we need to be, which is the main thing.' 'I'm sure it's not the first time the Lions have not played particularly well in their first outing,' Smith added. 'The main thing is how quickly we can respond and how quickly we can stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to get back on the training pitch and get better as quickly as possible.' Farrell's message has been for the tourists to refrain from moping or sulking, even if the long-haul flight to Perth, where the Lions face Western Force on Saturday in their first game on Australian soil, will present ample opportunity to study video clips of hasty offloads and other technical hitches. As the Lions all acknowledge, Argentina have handed them a wake-up call. Actions, not words, are required to regain impetus.

The Independent

30 minutes ago

• The Independent

Tom Curry urges Lions to make most of Australia tour after Argentina setback

Tom Curry has warned his British and Irish team-mates they can not afford to waste a moment in their search for respect as they target an immediate response to their defeat by Argentina. The Lions arrived in Perth on Sunday smarting from the 28-24 loss at the Aviva Stadium that drew a scathing assessment from head coach Andy Farrell, who refused to blame the squad's lack of familiarity for the setback. Western Force provide the first opportunity to make amends for the error-strewn opener and Curry, a tourist with the elite of British and Irish rugby in 2021, knows time is of the essence if the team are to be ready to face Australia. 'The thing with this sport and this tour is that it comes and goes so quickly. You've got to make the most of it,' the England flanker said. 'Every meeting and every session. Before you know it we'll be playing in Australia so we can't let moments pass us by. 'We speak a lot about respect with our own team-mates. We've only got six weeks together. Respect is so hard to earn but so easy to lose. 'It's really important that every session and meeting we turn up and push in the right direction. 'We have got to pull tighter, it's the only way. I feel like this group has taken so many steps off the field. I haven't got a bad word to say about anyone.' Against Argentina the Lions showed ambition in attack and dominated at the scrum, but the vast number of handling errors, malfunctioning line-out and vulnerability in the air are areas of pressing concern. Curry, who impressed outside of his own dropped passes, echoed Farrell's warning that a lack of time together must not be seen as a barrier to success on the tour. 'We've nipped that in the bud straight away. You can get to the sixth week and still make the same excuse. Six weeks is not a long time so we can't make that excuse the whole way through,' he said. 'We need to take personal responsibility for our own performances and how excited we get on the ball. 'On the flip side, it's really exciting because we got our hands on the ball and got into great spots. But come on, we need to take personal responsibility for the ball when we have it.' Fin Smith made his Lions debut in Dublin and the England fly-half feels the need to rally as quickly as possible following the disappointment against Argentina. 'I'm sure it's not the first time the Lions have not played particularly well in their first outing,' Smith said. 'The main thing is how quickly we can respond and how quickly we can stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to get back on the training pitch and get better as quickly as possible. 'No moping about, no sulking. We need to get back on the horse straight away and have conversations that are going to make us better. That's definitely the aim.'

Daily Mail​

38 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

The Lions must 'take personal responsibility' after Argentina defeat, urges Tom Curry - as Fin Smith calls for a response as squad arrive in Australia

The British & Irish Lions arrived in Perth on Sunday with a warning from two of their England stars that they must improve and quickly ringing in their ears. Tom Curry and Fin Smith cut despondent figures after Andy Farrell's side warmed up for their tour of Australia with a shock 28-24 defeat by Argentina. The post-match mood at the Aviva Stadium was dark. Flanker Curry pulled no punches, describing the Pumas loss as an 'opportunity gone.' He added: 'We need to take personal responsibility for our own performances. F***, we can't score points if we are dropping the ball and giving it away that easily. 'We have got to respect the ball a lot more. When something goes against us, we have got to keep our chests up and crack on. We have to have tough conversations. 'I am not going to say it is going to be a party. We don't need that. We've only got six weeks together. This is the thing with this tour. It comes and goes so quickly. 'You've got to make the most of it. Before you know it, we'll be playing in Australia so we can't let moments pass us by. We've got to fully take it on the chin. 'We speak a lot about respect with our own team-mates. Respect is so hard to earn but so easy to lose.' There was an understandable rustiness to the Lions' first outing. But head coach Farrell, captain Maro Itoje and the squad are determined not to use their limited preparation time together as an excuse. On Sunday, the Lions confirmed they had added no additional players to their squad. Against Argentina, they produced moments of promise in attack – one which was guided in Dublin by No 10 Smith. But there were too many spilled balls. Farrell described the attack as 'clunky'. His team also had defensive and line-out issues. Smith, one of 14 Lions debutants against Argentina, said he was 'gutted' and 'pretty deflated' at how his bow has gone. 'We created a lot, but we just didn't look after the ball. The number of times we threw poor offloads meant we just couldn't keep pressure on them,' Smith added. 'There is a lot to get better at. I'm sure it's not the first time the Lions have not played particularly well in their first outing. Fin Smith admitted he was 'gutted' and 'pretty deflated' at how his Lions debut had gone 'The main thing is how quickly we can respond and how quickly we can stop feeling sorry for ourselves. Andy has already said that – no moping.' After landing Down Under, the Lions will spend the next few days acclimatising ahead of their first game on Australian soil against the Western Force on Saturday. Yes, they lost against Argentina. And yes, the performance wasn't perfect. As competitive professionals, Curry and Smith were understandably disappointed. But the crucial passes that didn't stick in their first game surely will do with more training time in the bank. The post-match analysis of Argentina was unusual in that most media pundits, this writer included, saw more positives than Farrell's players did. 'We're not about throwing the ball out the back. Andy's been hot on you've got to see your pass and know someone is there,' Curry said. 'There were key moments against Argentina when that didn't happen. We can't just keep saying it and not doing it.'